I’m a in the wrong?

Question

Baby girl is one week old today and after a rough start to our breastfeeding journey things are going really well, beside the fact that sometimes even though she nurses for almost 20 minutes she’s still hungry and my husband has been giving her bottles of breast milk to help. He now is wanting me to exclusively pump and bottle fed breast milk and I don’t want to. That adds a whole other step to our feeding process that I think is unnecessary. He’s argument is that we’d be able to see how much she’s eating and while he’s correct I want to nurse my baby. I’m my mind it’s my body and while we are breast feeding and I’m the one making the milk and having to nurse/pump it’s my choice and now he’s mad because I don’t want to pump and bottle feed. It’s just frustrating

Answer

Cluster feeding is totally normal!  Pump if you want to but definitely don’t feel like you should have to.  Having to spend 20 minutes attached to the pump several times a day gets incredibly difficult as baby gets older...especially when you’re pumping because they’re hungry.  Have hubby talk to a lactation consultant and get educated before he decides you should switch to exclusive pumping.  It’s hard 😫

Answer

She’s cluster feeding mama! You need to let her nurse when she wants because that’s how they bring your milk in. It’s 100% normal. 
She’s not necessarily hungry every time, it’s like little snacks rather than a full meal. Babies do this usually from about a week old until sometimes 2-3 months. Monitor diaper output (should have about 6wet/1dirty per day) and as long as baby is meeting that and is active and alert while meeting milestones. That’s the best way to make sure she’s getting enough.

Answer

It’s your choice. At least he’s getting to bottle feed. My son was exclusively breastfed. No one but me and my boob fed my child for his first 6 months of life. He will get over it. Tell him the dangers of losing your supply not to mention all the extra dishes. If baby is gaining it’s not necessary to know exactly how much they’re eating.

Answer

I had the same worry at one time - how will I know if my baby eats enough if all I know is that she spent time on the boobs? But there IS an answer which is better than the bottle. Two answers, even!
1 - Count the diapers.
2 - Transfer weighing.
Seriously, I admire his determination to be involved with caring for your child, but there are better ways to do so.
He could pick up bathing, diaper changes, tummy time, burping, naps - anything else but feeding, since you can and are willing to nurse!
He's coming from a place of caring. His problem isn't that you guys don't know how much baby is eating - but that you don't know if baby's consumption is healthy or not.
It's most likely healthy but there are cluster feedings, slow eaters, comfort nursing, growth spurts and developmental leaps which all look like "baby's spending extra time on the boobs and I don't understand why!" - so there are what appear to be reasons to worry. And baby's behavior will also change with all the new developmental milestones, so when you feel like now you know how this tiny little thing works, it will change again! How do you know if it's normal or not?! The bad news is that without being a constant presence at the pediatrician's you won't know if baby really, really, really is alright. The good news is that you can have a pretty good guess most of the time!
For big developmental leaps and milestones, you can check out scientific articles, books, the "wonder weeks" app, etc. You can get a pretty good list of symptoms of teething by a quick Google search. You should also check the weather - big weather changes can make babies cranky. And then there are babies being overtired, exposed to too many novel experiences or just staying awake for too long... But these all are things you can learn about! And, these all can and will make baby cranky even if you bottle feed.

Answer

If you want to breastfeed, you do that. He doesn’t get a say in it, because it’s your body and you get to decide!

Answer

You cant overfeed a breastfed baby! They'll eat what they need when they need, we had a horrible night last night due to cluster feeding which is totally normal, she would eat for 30 minutes instead of the usual 20.

Answer

You definitely don’t need to pump to see what she is eating. Keep track of wet and dirty diapers if she is having enough then she is getting enough milk. Your doctor will check her growth closely. You will know if she isn’t getting enough. Pumping is not as good for your supply as breastfeeding is so you run the risk of underproducing. Of course pumping and bottle feeding is 100 percent possible lots of badass mama’s are out there making it look easy. If you want to breastfeed then you should. Talk to a lactation consultant they can do a weigh before and after a feed to give you an idea of what she is getting. Your husband isn’t the one having to get up in the night to pump, or washing sterilizing parts and bitts round the clock.

Answer

It’s definitely your choice, and switching will even impact your milk production; you literally produce milk in response to infant signaling so with your baby at your breast, and suckling, at that... your body preps itself for what your baby needs. Not only that but your breast milk isn’t the same all the time. It literally changes with your baby’s needs. So breastfeeding allows your baby to get more fluids when she’s thirsty and more fats when she’s hungry. 
I’m not even a lactation consultant, I’m a breastfeeding counselor in training. 
Let him know that you aren’t just a milk factory, and that lactation is a balance struck between mother and child that is best undergone under natural conditions.

Answer

Baby needs to be on the breast frequently to get all the antibodies in case they get sick— their saliva literally triggers your breastmilk to tailor to their specific needs

Answer

Yeah no. Unless there is a good and specific reason (such as baby won’t latch well, or YOU prefer pumping over nursing), then pumping + bottle feeding is definitely not the way to go. That is sooo much more complicated compared to nursing!! Though if you decide to do it, you potentially could go back to exclusively breastfeeding at some point in the future, if baby accepts... but in that case, you will NEED to use low flow nipples + slow pace-feeding, else baby will definitely learn to prefer bottle over breast.
Also, as others said, it’s totally normal for babies to nurse >20 min sometimes, and/or want to nurse again after <1 hour sometimes, especially early on. So unless there is a medical reason (like too much weight loss), you guys should NOT supplement with a bottle afterwards, otherwise baby will get full and then won’t drink enough at the breast later. Over time this will reduce your supply.

I’m a in the wrong?

The Top Baby Tracker App: Embrace New Beginnings with Tender Care

The Top Fertility Tracker App: Your Path to Achieving Pregnancy

The Top Pregnancy App: Nurturing Your Journey to Motherhood

The Top Period Tracker for Empowering Your Menstrual Health Journey